Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s book “Jamie’s Italy” this is one of our favorite appetizers so far this year. It also looks beautiful. The crunchy toasted pane siciliano bread and the smoothness of the eggplant (or Aubergine as we call it in Denmark), goes very well together and fills your mouth with flavor and adventure. Eggplant seems to be largely a forgotten vegetable in the US, at least in SoCal (Southern California), and really it’s a wonderful ingredient in many dishes. People, wake up and smell the eggplant!

Appetizer Recipe (4 servings)

• 4 slices of bread (we used a home-baked pane siciliano)
• 8 slices of eggplant
• 5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 8 basil leaves
• 4 mint leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix the olive oil, finely sliced mint and basil leaves, vinegar, and grated or smashed garlic in a bowl. Heat your BBQ to high, then turn to medium as you place the slices of eggplant on the grill (see below). Turn when they get some nice grill marks on one side, and remove when both sides are done. Add the grilled eggplant to the bowl and stir it gently. Let it sit for 10 minutes to soak up the taste. While it soaks, rub 4 slices of bread with a little olive oil, and toast (or grill) them until they are golden brown. Place the eggplant slices on the bread, and sprinkled a little more fresh basil on top before serving.